Mitch Seavey was the first musher to leave the checkpoint at Unalakleet on Sunday, March 10, 2013, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth)
/ AP

A sled dog in the team of Norwegian musher Joar Leifseth Ulsom removes snow and ice on a bootie after arriving in Unalakleet on Sunday, March 10, 2013, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth)— AP

A sled dog in the team of Norwegian musher Joar Leifseth Ulsom removes snow and ice on a bootie after arriving in Unalakleet on Sunday, March 10, 2013, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (AP Photo/Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth)
/ AP

The 2004 champion left the checkpoint at Shaktoolik at 1:15 a.m. Monday after resting his team for nearly four hours.

However, Aaron Burmeister was not going to allow Seavey to get much of a lead. He followed Seavey out less than an hour later. And, four-time champion Jeff King is in fourth place, just three minutes behind Burmeister.

The finish in Nome now is just a little more than 200 miles away. From Shaktoolik, teams travel across the frozen sea ice and toward Koyuk. This section of trail can be dicey, especially if a blizzard kicks up. Coastal storms have ended more than one musher's dream of arriving first to Nome.